Talking on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress 2018 in Barcelona, Yu Chengdong, the CEO of Huawei’s Consumer Technology business, painted a grim picture for smartphone consumers of the future.
According to Chinese news portal MyDrivers, Yu claimed that only “three or four” smartphone vendors will survive in the long run. The CEO reportedly told the Chinese media that the smartphone industry is “bound to face a consolidation due to the huge investment needed to remain competitive”. Yu’s belief comes from the fact that companies with less than 10 percent share are already losing money in the market. He believes that as things stand now, vendors need to at least have a 10 percent market share to break even.
Huawei is currently the world’s third-largest smartphone vendor globally after Samsung and Apple, but aims to become number two within the next couple of years. The company also harbors ambitions of becoming the industry leader at some stage, even though it continues to struggle to sell its products in the US, given the deep distrust of the Chinese government (and Chinese companies) within the rank and file of the US polity, intelligence and law enforcement.
Huawei is already the world’s largest telecom equipment manufacturer, and has worked its way up to become China’s largest smartphone vendor, replacing Xiaomi a couple of years ago. The company was once rumored to unveil its flagship P20 smartphone at the MWC in Barcelona, but as it turned out, the company only announced the MateBook X Pro laptop and three new MediaPad M5 Android tablets at the event. Those waiting with bated breath for the P20 launch, however, need not despair, as the company has confirmed that it will launch the device in Paris on March 27.
